Laguna Yaxhá
Encyclopedia
Laguna Yaxhá is a Guatemala
n lake
situated in the northern department of El Petén.
The ancient Maya City of Yaxhá
was built on the shores of Laguna Yaxhá, and the Maya ruins of Topoxté
occupy a group of small islands at the western end of the lake.
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
n lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
situated in the northern department of El Petén.
The ancient Maya City of Yaxhá
Yaxha
Yaxha is a Mesoamerican archaeological site in the northeast of the Petén Basin region, and a former ceremonial center and city of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. Located in the modern-day department of Petén, northern Guatemala, it is approximately 30 km southeast from Tikal, between the...
was built on the shores of Laguna Yaxhá, and the Maya ruins of Topoxté
Topoxte
Topoxte is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site in the Petén Basin in northern Guatemala with a long occupational history dating as far back as the Middle Preclassic. As the capital of the Ko’woj Maya, it was the largest of the few Postclassic Mesoamerican sites in the area...
occupy a group of small islands at the western end of the lake.